


Birthday Present

by captain_sassy_socks



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:01:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27389161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captain_sassy_socks/pseuds/captain_sassy_socks
Summary: On his birthday, Sam has a special present for Jack.
Relationships: Samantha "Sam" Carter/Jack O'Neill
Comments: 16
Kudos: 65





	Birthday Present

The sudden dip of the bed wakes him. The sound of someone flicking the bedside lamp on announces the end of the night. Reluctantly, Jack rubs one hand over his face, turns on his back and shields himself against the intruding light with one arm across his eyes. “What time is it?” he mumbles, sleep still heavy in his voice.

Instead of answering him, Sam places something feather-light under his chin.

Curious, he peeks from beneath at the neatly wrapped, small package on his chest. Confused, he points at it and asks, “What’s that?”

“Open it.”

“Sam, it’s-,” he starts, but her barely restrained giddiness stops him mid-protest. Her eyes sparkle with a happiness he has never seen before while her fingers fidget with the blanket.

Sluggish in his movements, he props himself against the headboard and rotates one shoulder to get the kink out of his neck muscles. For sure, it’s his birthday today, but that doesn’t necessitate to wake him before the break of dawn. He expected the day would begin with extensive cuddling and a bowl of his favorite breakfast, both non-negotiable. However, another glance at her refutes his assumption.

Meanwhile, a handful of awake brain cells concentrate on the task at hand and coordinate his clumsy attempt to unwrap. With difficulty, he fights his way through the layer of sticky tape. For all her insistence to open it quickly, she made sure the process was a lot more laborious than necessary. After some resistance, the peridot striped paper yields and reveals the treasure inside, a plain, white envelope. Raising one eyebrow, he throws a silent question at her and turns the object between his fingers.

Nodding and worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, Sam encourages him to proceed.

Carefully, he opens the flap and pulls out a picture of a pregnancy test with two prominent vertical lines staring back at him. As if energized by the pattern, all other brain cells come to life and fire a rapid slide show of a little girl with blonde hair at him. She’s crying in his arms, racing away from him with her tricycle, skating with him over the ice, going to prom-

Whoa!!! He shouldn’t get ahead. He shakes his head to clear his mind. Overwhelmed and a bit scared, he words the obvious, “Are you-”

“-Yes!!!” she cuts him off, beaming with joy and radiating nervous energy. By now, she kneels next to him on the bed.

Jack’s heart misses a beat. “Are you... sure?” he croaks. His mouth feels parched all of a sudden.

Sam bobs her head frantically and squeals with joy, “I took three! All positive!”

“We are…,” the words get stuck in his throat. He’s going to be a dad. The mere thought sounds so foreign to him, the memory buried underneath a mountain of guilt. Yet, the ghost of the man he once was rises from the dirt. To ensure himself that he isn’t dreaming, he looks down again at the evidence between his fingers. Two bright, vertical lines. A boy, or a girl, is growing inside of her. Her, his wife, his everything.

A lone tear escapes, travels down his cheek and drops on the picture. The noiseless impact reinforces the reality. His fingers tighten their grip as he whispers in awe, “I’m gonna be a dad.”

The gentle touch of Sam’s hand beneath his chin lifts his gaze. The myriad of emotions in his heart reflects on her face; excitement, joy, and love. Together, they have embarked on the biggest adventure of their life.

Grinning like the happiest man in the world—nonsense—the galaxy, he skims his fingertips over the side of her face. Clasping the back of her head, he pulls her closer until their lips meet in a slow, yet meaningful kiss.

After all they’ve been through, he never dared to hope they got a chance at having a child. With each day, time trickled away and ran out. And yet, here they are. A miracle. He snickers at the mental image of his wife approaching a pregnancy test like a scientist; one could be a fluke, three are tangible evidence. Three tests? Huh? Jack reclines and squints. “Did you take three tests this morning?”

“No,” Sam chuckles and taps the picture, “it’s not a stick.”

Right. How silly of him since he holds paper, not plastic, between his fingers. But that would mean she has already known about it for a while. He cants his head and asks, “When?”

“Five days ago,” Sam affirms and toys with the collar of his shirt. “I wanted to tell you immediately. But then a thought struck me, and… you know… I think today’s surprise was worth the wait.” She shrugs one shoulder as if to downplay the significance of her decision.

“Yes, it was,” Jack agrees. The timing was indeed perfect. More than that. Now, he has another reason to celebrate the day.

Sam throws back the blanket, straddles him and smooths her fingers through his hair, over the shell of his ear, along his jawline until they rest at the corner of his mouth. Locking their gaze, she leans in and whispers, “Happy Birthday” just before she bestows upon him the most tender declaration of love he has ever witnessed.

The picture glides from his grasp when he puts his arms around her waist and gets lost in the sensations.

When they break apart, he breathes against her lips, “Best birthday present ever.”

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr. There you find the pic that inspired this ficlet.


End file.
